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Windows Vista installation can't find hard drive on Inspiron E1505
The hard drive in this Inspiron E1505 recently went kaput, and I've installed a new drive into it. The drive is recognized in BIOS with no problem, however when I boot from the Windows Vista setup disk and attempt to do an install, it says that no drives are found and suggests I click "Load Driver" to provide a driver for installation. I've tried doing this, using the Intel Mobile Chipset drivers that I've downloaded and extracted onto a USB drive, but that doesn't fix the problem.
I've tried all of the drivers in that are listed when "Hide drivers that are not compatible with hardware on this computer" is selected... dmi_pci.inf, ich7core.ing, ich7usb.inf, ich7ide.inf, 945GM.inf, and ich7id2.inf. The result is the same for each one. It goes back to the 'Where do you want to install Windows?' screen and tells me that no drives were found.
I've tried updating to the latest system BIOS as well to no avail.
Thanks for any help.
jackshack
6.4K Posts
1
November 23rd, 2009 11:00
So far as I know, the E1505 does not have a SATA mode. It is permanently in IDE compatible. Was this machine delivered with Vista? If you have a Dell Windows XP installation CD you might try that as a quick check to make sure the computer is communicating with the hard drive. If you don't have that, it's time to use diagnostics to see if the drive is working properly. The easiest way to do that is boot the Dell Resource CD if you have it. If not, the downloads page has a file that can be used to build a diagnostics CD.
TheRealFireblad
4.6K Posts
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November 18th, 2009 13:00
Windows Vista should sort it automatically, but it might be worth checking in the BIOS to see what mode the hard drive is set to - i.e. SATA or AHCI?
Whichever one it's set to, try the other?
mjdamico
14 Posts
0
November 20th, 2009 05:00
Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, I cannot find this particular setting anywhere in the BIOS. I know I've had to change this on other computers in the past (on my Latitude E6500 it's under System Configuration-> SATA Operation), but darned if I can the equivalent setting on the Inspiron E1505 it on this one. Could it possibly be a "hidden" option somewhere?
Here are the items I see in the BIOS on the E1505:
System
System Info
Processor Info
Memory Info
Device Info
Battery Info
Battery Health
Date/Time
Boot Sequence
Onboard Devices
Integrated NIC
Media Card and 1394
Video
Brightness
Brightness (AC)
LCD Panel Expansion
Security
Admin Password
System Password
Internal HDD PW
Password Change
Password Bypass
Wireless Hotkey Change
CPU XD Support
Computrace(R)
Performance
Multi Core Support
HDD Acoustic Mode
SpeedStep Enable
Power Management
Auto On Mode
Auto On Time
USB Wake Support
Serial ATA DIPM
Maintenance
Load Defaults
Service Tag
POST Behavior
Adapter Warnings
Fn Key Emulation
Fast Boot
Virtualization
Keypad (Embedded)
Numlock LED
USB Emulation
Wireless
Internal Bluetooth
Internal Wi-Fi
Wireless Hotkey
RobinBredin
3.7K Posts
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November 20th, 2009 06:00
Hi, In my system it is under 'Integrated Peripherals', then at the bottom of the list, it says, 'Sata Mode', then next to that it will say what mode your drive's are set at. In my case my drive's are set at 'IDE'. To change it, scroll down to it, high light it, then press enter.
mjdamico
14 Posts
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November 20th, 2009 08:00
If there was an Integrated Peripherals option, I would try that! :emotion-1:
mjdamico
14 Posts
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November 23rd, 2009 08:00
Anyone have any advice on this one? Being unable to install an operating system has really limited the usefulness of this computer...
How the heck can I change the SATA mode if I'm not given the option in the BIOS?
dallascowboyswo
2.4K Posts
0
November 23rd, 2009 12:00
Try removing the hard drive and reseating it.
mjdamico
14 Posts
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December 3rd, 2009 11:00
Excellent suggestion about trying to boot from a Windows XP installation disc. I tried this, and the Windows XP setup did see the hard drive with an NTFS partition already on it. I deleted the partition, rebooted with the Vista installation disc, and finally Vista could see the drive!
I guess that somehow there was a corrupt partition on the drive which was causing it to be invisible to Vista. And for some reason, only Windows XP could see it and remove it. Go figure.
Glad to be up and running again! Thanks! :emotion-1:
jackshack
6.4K Posts
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December 3rd, 2009 19:00
Happy I could help. Best of luck to you!